Walking through Cayuse Vineyards with Christophe Baron, both his passion and his attention to detail become immediately clear. As he walks and talks about his vineyards Baron picks up any small item that does not belong there, anything that is out of place.

It is this attention to detail that has made Baron’s wines among the best in the world. It is this attention to detail that, again, led Baron to bury canes at his vineyards last year. While he had to cut many of his vines back to the ground this spring due to last November’s freeze, Baron still looks to produce a fairly full crop again this year due to this precaution. In contrast, many vineyards in the rocks region of the Walla Walla Valley were, again, completely wiped out.Born in Dijon, France, Baron planted his first vineyard in Washington, Cailloux Vineyard, in 1997. He continued to plant new vineyards, including En Chamberlain, Cocinnelle, En Cerise, and Armada in subsequent years. Production was moved to the current, modest facility in 2005. Baron prefers not to think of it as a winery. “There is no winemaker here. There is no winery. There is a studio!” he says.

At each of his vineyards, Baron looks to keep tonnage down. Merlot is the highest yielding varietal at about 2.5 tons per acre. In contrast Cabernet Franc, always late to ripen, can be as little as one ton per acre. Baron says Grenache is the most challenging varietal to work with. Of Grenache Baron says, “This is as close as I can get to a thin skin, light color grape varietal that doesn’t accept mediocrity!”

While Baron is passionate about wine, he is also not singularly focused. When talking about wine, Baron is invariably talking about food as well. And he knows that wine is a means and not an end. “There is not only wine in life,” he says. “If you want to understand the point that is wine, don’t look at wine. Look around.”

Baron is always experimenting, always seeking out new areas of expression. He is planting a new vineyard next to Cailloux. Vines at his HP Vineyard, which is powered by a draft horse, were planted in 2007 at a remarkable 4,800+ vines per acre.

The wine world was aflutter last month when Baron and winery General Manager Trevor Dorland announced a new project – No Girls Wines. The winery is named after a building Baron purchased in Walla Walla in 2002 that was the site of a former bordello. At the top of the stairway the words ‘No Girls’ was painted, indicating that the bordello – and the girls - were gone. This project will use fruit from a new vineyard – La Paciencia – with only 150 cases made of each wine. The mailing list rapidly closed.

The current Cayuse Vineyards releases are from the 2008 vintage. Of the vintage Baron says, “The trend in all of the 2008s is minerality.” Indeed these wines are less overtly funky than many of the recent Cayuse releases but still laden with mineral aromas and flavors. “I’m a mineral junkie. I need to have my mineral fix every day,” he says with a laugh. The 2008 wines also boast incredible texture. This word is written on almost all of my notes for these wines – three times for the Flying Pig alone.

“We are just trying to preserve freshness and minerality,” Baron says. Indeed, there is a vibrancy and energy to all of these wines. 2008 was also the first year that Elizabeth Bourcier was hired as assistant winemaker. Bourcier, along with fellow assistant winemaker Laura Pursley, help keep Cayuse humming along when Baron travels abroad.

Many have noted the unique style of the Cayuse wines compared to their peers. What his secret? “I always work for the glory of wine. Not for you,” Baron says (referring to himself). “If you think of that, something beautiful will happen.” Indeed.

Cayuse Vineyards Flying Pig Red Wine Walla Walla Valley 2008 $75Rating: */** (Excellent/Exceptional) A classic Cabernet Franc and Merlot profile with floral notes, herbal notes, and red fruit – more fruit than seen in most of the Cayuse wines. An incredibly textured feel to the palate with huge minerality, silky tannins, and a saline quality. A wine that stays with you long after the last sip. 60% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot. En Cerise Vineyard. 231 cases produced.

Cayuse Vineyards Syrah En Cerise Vineyard Walla Walla Valley 2008 $70Rating: ** (Exceptional) Dark in color. An aromatically compelling wine with smoke, ash, mineral, mushroom, crushed stone, umami and other savory notes that make it hard to take the first sip. A textured, fresh feel that pops across the palate. Not full of funk but still classically Cayuse. 100% Syrah. 296 cases produced.

Cayuse Vineyards Bionic Frog Walla Walla Valley 2008 $80Rating: ** (Exceptional) Incredibly dark and inky in color with purple at the rim. Full of smoke, ash, mineral, and crushed rocks on a wine that boasts incredible aromatic complexity. You could smell this wine without drinking it and be satisfied all day long. Incredibly textured, perfumed, and rich on a palate full of umami flavors and mineral notes. 100% Syrah. 475 cases produced.

Cayuse Vineyards Syrah Armada Vineyard Walla Walla Valley 2008 $75Rating: ** (Exceptional) Considerably more closed up at present than the other wines with liquid stone, ash, and crushed flowers. The palate is concentrated, textured, and structured. Alternating between firm and plush tannins. A chewy, full wine that coats the palate. A stunner. 100% Syrah. 492 cases produced.

As the first modern day winery in the Walla Walla Valley, Leonetti Cellar celebrates its 34th vintage this year. During this time, the winery’s history of success and accolades is nearly unparalleled. The new releases continue to build on Leonetti’s elite reputation.

Chris Figgins assumed head winemaking responsibilities from his father, Gary Figgins, in 2000. Since that time he has completed the winery’s transition to using all estate fruit from the Walla Walla Valley for its wines. The results thus far have been impressive.

Even for a family with such a long winemaking history, every vintage is different and sometimes it doesn’t come easily. 2010 was a difficult growing season across much of Washington with unusually cool temperatures. Figgins says that some of the winery’s vineyards came in at 1.4 tons per acre, a fraction of what they might normally yield. Still, Figgins is excited about the results. “They’re the darkest wines I’ve ever seen,” he says.

The new releases from Leonetti Cellar from the 2008 and 2009 vintages are as impressive as any I have had from the winery. The Sangiovese shimmers with intensity and is as good of a domestic Sangiovese as you will find. The Merlot boasts incredible purity of red fruit. The Cabernet Sauvignon – a completely stunning wine – is a prototype for the varietal, showing tremendous complexity and tannin integration. The Reserve Red Wine, the least immediately accessible of the new releases but the most compelling, is all about elegance and continued to broaden and improve over a series of days. It is more than worth the wait.

On all of the new releases, the oak is considerably dialed back and the fruit more front and center. The wines all have an incredible freshness and exceptionally well-integrated tannins. There is a beautiful balance between elegance and power. Each wine displays why Leonetti Cellar continues to be at the top of the class.

Leonetti Cellar Reserve Red Wine Walla Walla Valley 2008 $135Rating: ** (Exceptional) Aromatically brooding with cassis, black cherry, coffee grounds, red fruit, licorice, and very high toned herbal notes. Locked up extremely tightly at present, this wine only reveals itself after several days of being open. On the palate, loaded full of fresh red and black fruit flavors and a tart, cranberry-filled finish. Tannins are extremely polished and the fruit flavors are supple. A multiple swallow wine that is simultaneously rich and sophisticated. Will age gracefully indefinitely. Give at least 3 years but patience will be rewarded with extended cellaring. 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 11% Merlot, and 9% Cabernet Franc. Mill Creek Upland, Loess, Seven Hills, and Leonetti Old Block. Aged 23 months in new and neutral French oak. 14.7% alcohol. 1,131 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Reynvaan Family Vineyards

It seems hard to believe that Reynvaan Family Vineyards is already approaching the release of its third vintage. The winery was founded in 2004, with vigneron Christophe Baron working with the Reynvaans to establish their vineyards and winery.

Reynvaan made an immediate impression with its stellar 2007 vintage releases, and quality has only continued to go up as the vineyards mature and as winemaker Matt Reynvaan gains additional experience. The wines have already begun to challenge the state’s best.

The Reynvaans have two estate vineyards, one located in the Rocks region of the Walla Walla Valley, called In The Rocks, and one by the family home nestled up against the Blue Mountains. The latter is called Foothills in the Sun.

Like everyone in the Rocks region, which sits low in a bowl in the Walla Walla Valley, the Reynvaans were affected by last November’s freeze. The vines had to be cut back to the ground. However, unlike everyone, they had buried canes – another example of where working with Baron has paid off.

Still, the vineyard work this year has been intensive and Matt Reynvaan says that the family has had to work especially hard. The goal of these efforts is clear. “It needs to be perfect to help separate us from everyone else,” Reynvaan says.

Of note on the 2009 vintage releases, which will be available this fall, the winery is offering a new wine called Stonessence. This is the winery’s first one hundred percent Syrah – others have included small percentages of Viognier and Marsanne - with fruit coming from a single part of the In The Rocks vineyard. While Stonessence might just be the perfect name for this wine, which is akin to drinking liquid rocks, another apt name would be Sans Pareil. This may be the best wine from the winery yet.

The Reynvaans completed work on a modest production facility by the family home in time for the 2010 vintage. Also of note, 2010 marked the first vintage that the winery got fruit off of its Foothills in the Sun Vineyard. Tasting barrel samples, this looks to be a special and unique site. The future for this winery could not be brighter.

Reynvaan Family Vineyards The Unnamed Syrah In the Rocks Vineyard Walla Walla Valley 2009 $55Rating: */** (Excellent/Exceptional) A hugely aromatic, gamey, briny wine full of earth, iodine, umami, floral notes, and meat. Great depth and intensity of flavors with a textured feel. Has a backbone of tannins to hold it all together. Syrah co-fermented with Viognier.

Reynvaan Family Vineyards In the Rocks Syrah Walla Walla Valley 2009 $55Rating: ** (Exceptional) Dark and intense in color. An outrageously aromatic, arresting wine that jumps from the glass with orange peel, black olive juice, floral notes, and earth. On the palate a big, brooding, savage wine with layers of complexity, a persistent intensity, and a refined elegance. This is a wine that demands attention. Syrah co-fermented with Viognier.

Reynvaan Family Vineyards The Contender Syrah Walla Walla Valley 2009 $65Rating: ** (Exceptional) A brooding wine that is locked up tightly initially with earth, floral notes, roasted meat, and the famous Rocks funk. Rich, dense, and textured on a mineral laden palate. Once again an emphatic statement of Washington Syrah. Syrah co-fermented with Marsanne.

Reynvaan Family Vineyards Stonessence Syrah Walla Walla Valley 2009 $70Rating: ** (Exceptional) An aromatic wine full of mineral, earth, smoke, black olive juice, iodine, and crushed rock. The palate is distinct from the other Reynvaan offerings, alternately more subdued but also showing greater movement across the palate with an outrageous minerality. Shimmers with intensity with a chalky feel. Lingers seemingly endlessly. As good a wine as the winery has made and pushing the upper limits of the rating scale. 100% Syrah.Gramercy Cellars

Rocket ship Gramercy Cellars has briefly returned to the earth’s orbit to set up a permanent base camp near downtown Walla Walla. While the winery has favored the Big Apple Circus tent in the past for event weekends, Gramercy now occupies Amavi Cellars’ former location (Amavi opened a stunning tasting room south of town).

When Gramercy moved into the space, which includes a tasting room and barrel room, winemaker Greg Harrington and his wife Pam set about to make it their own. The tasting room, which Greg Harrington affectionately refers to as a Man Cave, features a dartboard, a widescreen TV for soccer game watching, and plush couches. The walls feature white tiles lined by black grout. “’Black grout! Black grout!”’ I told them,” Harrington says of working with the disbelieving contractors. High on one wall of the winery it reads, “If you want a luxury experience, go to Napa. If you want real wine, you’re in the right place.” Need I say more?

In addition to opening its new space, Gramercy has seen a number of other changes in 2011. The winery launched its wine club, Masters Tasting Association, earlier this year. The club offers a mixture of member-only wines as well as early access to reserve wines. Earlier this year the winery also hired a second employee Steve Wells, a sommelier from New York. If all this feels like watching a winery grow and bloom, it’s because it is.

In terms of the latest releases, Gramercy Cellars continues to distinguish itself as one of Washington’s best wineries. The 2009 Walla Walla Valley Syrah marks the first time that winery has made a Walla Walla Valley Syrah that could be vineyard designated (although it’s not). Almost all of the fruit for this wine, a complete stunner, comes from Les Collines Vineyard in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. This site has shown itself to be among the premier locations in the valley for Syrah, and this wine only builds on that reputation – and on Gramercy’s.

The 2009 The Third Man Red Wine, a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre, shows why Gramercy continues to be bullish on the prospects of Grenache and Grenache blends in Washington. Although a bit bigger in style than most of the Gramercy wines – it is Grenache after all - it is every bit as delicious.

The 2008 Lagniappe Syrah is a bit of a stylistic shift from previous vintages due to a forced change in fruit sourcing. The backbone of this wine has traditionally been Forgotten Hills Syrah. Alas, Mother Nature had other plans in 2008 with an early October freeze closing the door on the growing season. For the 2008 vintage the winery used a small block of Forgotten Hills Vineyard fruit that ripened, Minick Vineyard, and, for the first time, Phinny Hill in the Horse Heaven Hills. The wine, however, continues to live up to its name of “a little something extra.”

While Gramercy Cellars has in large part made its mark with Syrah, the winery has continued to grow its Cabernet Sauvignon production in recent years with impressive results. The winery made over 1,000 cases of its excellent 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. Meanwhile its soon-to-be-released 2009 Lower East Cabernet Sauvignon showcases fruit from some of Gramercy’s newer vineyard blocks. This is an extremely high quality wine at this price point. The winery will also be releasing a 2009 Walla Walla Valley designated Cabernet Sauvignon, a first, to its wine club members in addition to its Columbia Valley offering. Could Cabernet Sauvignon become the tail that wags this Syrah dog? With juice this good, who cares!

Gramercy Cellars The Third Man Red Wine Columbia Valley 2009 $45Rating: ** (Exceptional) Full of high toned red fruit, spice, floral notes, intense earthiness, and light game. Considerably more rich and generous in style than most of the winery’s offerings – but every bit as delicious - with abundant red fruit flavors that linger long after the last sip. A complete head turner. 50% Grenache, 28% Syrah, 22% Mourvedre. Alder Ridge, SJR, Gramercy Estate, and Minick vineyards. 14.7% alcohol. 490 cases produced.Corliss Estates

Corliss Estates was founded by Michael and Laurie Corliss. The winery is quite simply unlike any other to be found in Washington.

Corliss is perhaps most distinguished by its patience. The winery famously discarded its first two vintages when the wines did not meet the high standard they were looking for. Corliss’ first releases, from the 2003 vintage, were not available until the fall of 2008, an astonishing seven years after the winery first started making wine.

What takes so long? The Corliss wines are aged in oak for thirty-three months – an extended amount of time compared to most wines that see eighteen months or less. The wines are then aged another two an a half years in bottle before release. This means that the winery’s current releases, from the 2006 vintage, are already a full five years old upon release. Compare this to many wines – even high end ones – that are often a year and a half old. Many wineries are already releasing wines from the 2009 vintage.

The result is that the Corliss wines are in full bloom upon release. They are immediately enjoyable without additional cellaring, though still built for the long haul. This is an extreme rarity for wines of this caliber and a boon for consumers looking for wines that they don’t need to wait three to five years to see what all of the fuss is about.

If Corliss Estates’ patient ageing regimen did not already separate the winery from its peers, the quality of the wines would surely do so. The Corliss Estates wines are intensely focused, multiple swallow wines that oscillate between grace and power. The new releases from Corliss only continue to build on the winery’s track record for excellence.